51st clip. Title: Meeting the Signing Deaf. 5:29 minutes long. Total: 4:44:24 hours.
This clip, about meeting the signing deaf for the FIRST time, is posted with cheering gratitudes to those people who vblogged and commented on deafhood. Deafhood is a concept that definitely will contribute to the continuing paradigm shifting of the Public (and Deaf) Mind on the understanding and the appreciation of the Deaf “World” and on being Deaf. Those who are on a warpath on questioning this new concept of deafhood is, in fact, helping the discourse on deafhood. Those who saw (and wrote/signed about) the psychological and spiritual light of studying (one’s own) deafhood ARE contributing to the growth of our Mind (the Deaf Adult’s Mind) on deafhood or on being deaf. It is a matter of time before the concept of deafhood finally catch fire and engulf us all.
Educational and social services institutions serving any types of deaf children/people will somehow incorporate deafhood. Professionals dealing with the mental health of any types of deaf people will somehow incorporate deafhood. Parents will somehow consider the healthy psychological and spiritual development of their deaf children with the aid from the discourse on deafhood. What about the CODAs dealing with the fact that they have deaf parents? Would discussing deafhood with my two growing hearing daughters help them develop healthy attitudes toward themselves as CODAs? And many many more in the future of deafhood or being deaf -
Yes, I do see the light. Do you?
Meeting the Signing Deaf is an important part of Deafhood or being (with the) Deaf.
Enjoy watching the joyous first time the Deaf Child met the signing deaf people in Siepee’s Monastery. Click away . . .
Click on the word for youtube or dvtv, if above clip is slowly or undowloadable. Thank you.
Myth Commentary: Meeting the signing deaf people for the first time is an archetypal (universal) situation most deaf people undergo. It is deaf-universal. In the Deaf Child’s (the collective deaf or the deaf community) journey as a deaf person (deafhood), meeting signing deaf for the first time is as critical as anyone deaf or in the field of deafness might understand. A deaf person meet signing deaf person for the first time. Countless of manifestations of this archtypal situation (even more so with the next clip - learning the first sign) had happened, is happening, and will happen.
History Commentary: While every clip of the myth have myth commentary, not all clips in the myth have deaf history background. Very few clips have DIRECT deaf historical incidents like this one. The Deaf Child in this clip is Laurent Clerc. He met his first group of deaf people in the year of 1797 as an eleven year old boy. Click here to see an ASL narration of the possible site where Laurent Clerc first entered the deaf school in Paris.
In deaf history, deaf persons did first meet the signing deaf. Laurent Clerc probably met the signing deaf for the first time in the INJS school in Paris, if not beforehand in LeBalme and Lyons, France. Where did George Veditz meet his first signing deaf person? in Colorado School for the Deaf? Bob Davila probably met his signing deaf at California School for the Deaf, Berkeley for the first time. How would Marlee Matlin, if it did happen, describe her feelings about meeting her signing deaf person for the first time? We could dig up literature and find first time encounters. We could ask every living deaf person this question. It should not be limited to them. Hearing people, too, remember meeting signing deaf person for the first time, probably except CODAs and others. What about Barack Obama’s first time meeting and interacting with the Signing Deaf? I could go on and on. Meeting the Signing Deaf is universal in our history, in the NOW, and will always in the future where deaf people are.
Deafhood Questions:
- for signing DHH persons - Do you distinctly remembered seeing signing deaf person(s) for the very first time? If your parents are deaf and signing, do you remember meeting other deaf people for any reasons feeling as if it was a first time? If you do not remember, it was likely that you were born to signing deaf parents, right?
- for non-signing DHH persons - what were your feelings when you saw signing deaf for the first time? Over time did that change? What is your current feeling about the signing deaf person or people?
Questions:
- for Hearing parents: After learning that your child is deaf, do you remember meeting any deaf person for the first time? If you had met them beforehand, did you seek them?
- for Hearing non-coda signers: Do you remember the time you started to feel you wanted to learn sign language? Was it during the time you first met a signer? a signing deaf person?
- for Hearing public: Having never seen a signing deaf person, can you describe your feelings and thoughts meeting signing deaf person(s) for the first time?
Deafhood Commentary: If you have read this far, do we see clearly how important is meeting the signing deaf for the first time is in the process of being deaf or learning sign language? Deafhood is simply thinking about being (with) the deaf. Go to this link which discuss the psychological aspect of deafhood or being (with the) deaf.
05.06’s Quote:
. . . find your deaf center . . .
50th clip. Title: Meeting Siepee. 3:21 minutes long. Total: 4:38:55 hours.
Since this is the 50th clip, let it be a time to pause for a little celebration and reflection. It has been a year ago last summer when the story-epic-myth began its next manifestation in the form of a blog - video, art, and words weaved into a “web-book” in ASL on the internet. Sometimes far in a corner of my mind, I ask if the myth itself is waiting for the internet to arrive?
NEW CHANGES: The post titling changes - chapter title will be abbreviated like SM here and the clip title moves up to become the post title. Pictures of the Cadenhead and Unane-Bortin scrolls will be added. They can be viewed in the youtube myth compilation video (link). Certain images from these two scrolls will be used (I’ll try) to flow with the text, like blog artists do in the a ‘ la ronda oceanic ways.
I was about to post 05.05 last month when I found out that this clip is the 50th so I held back and waited until I finish signing the 2nd half of the saga in one stretch. I am done “for now”. Only chapter 11 is not yet signed as it’ll have over 20 clips. The Deaf Child becomes the Deaf Adult only in one chapter of the whole story/history. Check toc (table of contents) at the top of the page. It is an important chapter covering the “maturation” and empowerment of the deaf community.
The recent 6 days signing straight stretch process to finish signing the 2nd half found me exhilarated and others. I flitted from one part of deaf history to an aspect of my/our deaf life today, zigzagging back and forth, in weaving information into ASL art in a certain clip. I was struck agape once again that it was actually a mythmaking process. (also considered as novel-making). Let me type here Joseph Campbell’s words that satisfied me deeply.
Mythology is an organization of images metaphoric of experience, action, and fulfillment of the human spirit in the field of a given culture at a given time.
It is what I was and still am doing. Head swaying here again.
This story/epic yet remains to become a/the certified mythology of the deaf community. To reach the same level of symbiosis between sacred literature (myths/religions) and their people all over the world, the deaf community, for a long time, never had that symbiosis until lately. The deaf community DO have sacred literature in the form of raw history and legends, but not yet transformed into a simple sacred archetypal story. And it boggles my mind to continue in this stream of thought . . .
. . . now I take a deep breath, look around, and be appreciative. Celebrate that I can and did reach the 50th. I go day by day, with the sun up and down, focusing on posting each clip slowly after time and finish probably next summer. For you, viewers, readers, and especially the sweet commenters, thank you for staying with and supporting me. Onward to 75th, 100th, then the 125th clip!
Now here to the 05.05 clip -
The 50th clip of the Deaf Child mythology is posted with saluting hands and our heads bent in thanks to our earliest “superintendent” of deaf schools in the past. The Deaf Child finally meets Abbe Siepee. We, in our minds - bow/bent, and “think” - that we thank those historical personage behind the archetype of Siepee for being instrumental in shaping the turn of events in deaf history. Epee’s and Sicard’s work in Paris as the first and second director of the “first” signing school for the deaf.
Enjoy the meeting between the deaf child and the director of the monastery, Abbe Siepee. Click away . . .
Click here for YouTube or click here for DVTV if above undownloadable, too slow, or preferring full screen.
05.05 Images: New Feature - I have about 12 scrolls made by students in my former five deaf studies/history classes. The best few of these were scanned. For now, I will put the images here, later weaved a’ la ronda. Some will be cropped to a certain image, like the Cadenhead pastel art, or a wide shot like the Bortin collage art.
From the Cadenhead Scroll -
From the Unane-Bortin Scroll -
Myth Commentary: In the journey of the Deaf Child, meeting Siepee was somehow similar for almost every deaf person meeting the “principal” of the signing (and oral) deaf school. Meeting your “teacher in authority” is experienced by most, if not all, deaf people.
The Deaf Child is all deaf/hh people collectively “speaking”. What the deaf child experienced at the castle and/or the monastery reflect most of the deaf/hh people’s education, except for those in the public schools in the last 30 years. That comes in the Leather Book chapter.
After the Castle, the Deaf Child now feels peace and serenity in the Monastery. The pressure of the castle and the natural feel at the monastery - the dichotomy between them, to speak or to sign, is the deaf experience from the past into the present.
Deaf History Commentary: Deaf history behind this clip involves stories of Massieu meeting Sicard in Bordeaux, Clerc meeting Sicard/Massieu, and Berthier meeting Sicard/Clerc/Massieu and more deaf teachers. Clerc was the one many American students who met and some of them went on to be teachers/administrators at other schools. And it goes on and on until when I first met Richard Brill, my superintendent in CSDRiverside, in 1965. The cycle continues to me and my current and future deaf students . . .
Deaf history commentary on this clip will focus on Epee and Sicard, both an abbe. The writing and signing I envision including video in ASL requires time and work. So for now, here are just two paragraphs in English.
Charles Michel de l’Epee (1712 - 1789) continues to be honored and cherished by culturally deaf people today. His place in deaf history is in the beginning - in the genesis of deaf history. Deaf communities and standardized sign languages seriously became permanent on earth due to the establishment of deaf signing schools. That is also why we need to continue to honor (and revere) Epee. He was the first director. He started the deaf school later in his life. He did not invent sign language but used what was already out there among deaf people in the streets of Paris. He tried to mold the signing to reflect French written language - which is known as methodological signed French. The earliest deaf sacred spaces arrived with a merely simple act of starting a school which still links to us all today.
Roch Ambroise Cucurron Sicard (1742 - 1822) is a more interesting tale to tell. Epee’s successor was not a humble aesetic-type of a monk like himself. Sicard was more flamboyant one. He loved to give speeches, explained “his” miracle how the deaf could be educated, raised money, and intermingled into the French government with the King and the court. During his time, many French intellectuals, thinkers, royalty, and the common people flocked to his demonstrations with sign language and deaf education. His flamboyant ways critically helped the school in many ways but it almost killed him. The story of Sicard during the French Revolution needs to be told. So many deaf people do not know this story. (Here is where the future link to ck narrating this story in ASL). Sicard had to flee France to England and there, met Gallaudet who probably was enroute to Paris. And I could go on and on.
Deafhood Questions: Do you remember meeting your first principal at a deaf school or program? Do you still have memories of the first time you met a signing educational “superior” of the school you are about to attend? Have you ever experience the longing to go to a state residential school but couldn’t for various reasons, and having to stay at local public schools/programs? What was it like for you to finally meet the deaf and hearing administrators? More questions can be added here.
“Honor Thy Deaf History”
